Chenango County, New York
: '' For other places named "Chenango," see Chenango. ---- '''Chenango County' is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2000 census, the population was 51,401. Its name is from an Oneida word meaning "large bull-thistle." Its county seat is Norwich. History When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Chenango County was part of Albany County. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation of Cumberland County, and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation of Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont. On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial governor of New York. In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to Montgomery County in honor of the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of Quebec, replacing the name of the hated British governor. In 1789, Montgomery County was reduced in size by the splitting off of Ontario County. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of Schuyler and Wayne Counties. Herkimer and Tioga Counties were two of three counties split off from Montgomery County (the other being Otsego County) in 1791. Chenango County was formed on March 15, 1798 from of Tioga and Herkimer Counties. On April 4, 1804, of Chenango County was partitioned to expand Oneida County, including the communities of Waterville, and Sangerfield. On March 21, 1806, of Chenango County was partitioned to produce Madison County. This produced Chenango County as it exists today. Geography Chenango County is in the approximate center of the state, west of Albany, north of Binghamton, and southeast of Syracuse. The county is considered to be in the Southern Tier region of New York State. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,328 km² (899 sq mi). 2,316 km² (894 sq mi) of it is land and 11 km² (4 sq mi) of it (0.48%) is water. The Chenango River, a tributary of the Susquehanna River flows southward through the county. Adjacent Counties *Madison County - north *Otsego County - northeast *Delaware County - southeast *Broome County - south *Cortland County - west Demographics As of the census² of 2000, there were 51,401 people, 19,926 households, and 13,549 families residing in the county. The population density was 22/km² (58/sq mi). There were 23,890 housing units at an average density of 10/km² (27/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 97.65% White, 0.82% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 1.07% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 19,926 households out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were married couples living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.00% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,679, and the median income for a family was $39,711. Males had a median income of $30,363 versus $22,429 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,427. About 10.70% of families and 14.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.50% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over. Additional county information Morrisville State College has a branch in Norwich. Cities, Towns, and Villages *Afton (village) *Afton (town) *Bainbridge (town) *Bainbridge (village) *Columbus (town) *Coventry (town) *Earlville (village) *German (town) *Greene (town) *Greene (village) *Guilford (town) *Lincklaen (town) *McDonough (town) *New Berlin (town) *New Berlin (village) *North Norwich (town) *Norwich (city) *Norwich (town) *Otselic (town) *Oxford (town) *Oxford (village) *Pharsalia (town) *Pitcher (town) *Plymouth (town) *Preston (town) *Sherburne (town) *Sherburne (village) *Smithville (town) *Smyrna (town) *Smyrna (village) : > Labels in parentheses refer to official designation. Note: in this context "town" refers to a political subdivision synonymous with township rather than a small city. The towns in northern Chenango County originated from the Twenty Townships ceeded by the Oneida tribe to the State of New York. External links * Chenango County, NY webpage * Chenango County information * * Chenango County historical information * County historical summary * Chenango County Newspaper Sources *NEW YORK: Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; Compiled by Kathryn Ford Thorne; Edited by John H. Long. Category:Chenango County, New York